It's a dream. Of course there is some diesel clatter at idle and during heavy acceleration. But overall it has been as expected with performance on a par with our old X5 4.4i and way better mileage

The one area where the 3.0 turbo diesel I6 seems a little weak compared to the 4.4i V8 is below 1200 rpm. This shows up mainly when moving from rest on sloping ground. The 4.4i would simply hold its position if in gear and require very little throttle to gently back up a slope. The diesel requires more throttle to get it moving up aq slope and then you can let off a bit. Essentially you have to get the small turbo to kick in before it develops that amazing low end torque. This is quite noticeable to us when we back the X5 out of its parking spot up a small slope onto our driveway and again at the top of our drive where we have to slow down on a very steep section to allow the automatic gate to open. This is the only example of 'turbo-lag' we've noticed.

FWIW We knew about this minor issue going in, because of our extended test drive before we ordered. In fact, the X5 diesel handles both areas better than the ML320 BlueTec we test drove which doesn't have the small turbo and exhibits more turbo lag from rest.

This is a very small price to pay for the other great aspects of the diesel.

Funf Dreisig